Notre Dame head football coach Marcus Freeman was reportedly at a loss for words when the Fighting Irish missed out on the 2025 College Football Playoff. ESPN's Jen Lada was with the team on Sunday, December 7 for the CFP Selection Show, describing the mood as "very quiet" once it was clear that Notre Dame had been left out. "[Freeman] said that usually he has answers or reasons for why these things happen," Lada, 44, said. "He has none & that was unusual. He said he has no answers. It doesn't make sense. It doesn't add up why ND is not in this playoff field." Notre Dame had been ranked in the top 10 of every CFP ranking during the regular season before the University of Miami passed them in the final ranking, dropping the Irish to 11th. The change happened despite neither team playing a game in the past week and it made Notre Dame the first team out of the field. Notre Dame's Marcus Freeman Was 'Angry' After James Franklin's Age Joke Notre Dame athletic director Pete Bevacqua told Yahoo Sports that there was "no explanation" the committee could give for his school's exclusion. "As I said to [Freeman], one thing is for sure: Any rankings or show prior to this last one is an absolute joke and a waste of time," he said. "Why put these young student-athletes through these false emotions just to pull the rug out from underneath them having not played a game in two weeks and then a group of people in a room shatter their dreams without explanation?" The Fighting Irish announced later on Sunday that they would not participate in any bowl game this season. "As a team, we've decided to withdraw our name from consideration for a bowl game following the 2025 season," the team said in a statement. "We appreciate all the support from our families and fans, and we're hoping to bring the 12th national title to South Bend in 2026." Notre Dame's Marcus Freeman Converted to Catholicism After Taking the Job Selection committee chair Hunter Yurachek explained the move, which happened when Miami passed BYU in the rankings, putting the Hurricanes right next to Notre Dame. "Once we moved Miami ahead of BYU, then we had that side-by-side comparison that everybody had been hungering for," Yurachek said. "You look at those two teams on paper, and they are almost equal in their schedule strength, their common opponents, the results against common opponents." He added, "But the one metric we had to fall back on, again, was the head-to-head." Notre Dame and Miami played each other on August 31, with the Hurricanes coming away with a 27-24 win. But it wasn't just Miami's inclusion in the field that had Notre Dame fans scratching their heads. The Alabama Crimson Tide remained at No. 9 despite losing a 28-7 blowout against Georgia in the SEC championship game on Saturday, December 6 Fortunately for Notre Dame, this does not appear to be a problem that will repeat itself. As an independent, Notre Dame does not have the opportunity to play in a conference championship game in the days before the field is announced. But Bevacqua, 54, told Yahoo that the school has signed a memorandum of understanding with CFP officials that would guarantee the Fighting Irish a spot in the field in the future if they finish the season ranked in the top 12 of the CFP rankings.